Wednesday, October 8, 2014

EBOLA NEWS: Expert says — based upon experience with SARS — AIRPORT SCREENING is NOT likely to contain the spread of the current threatening disease

Screening will cause maximum inconvenience to“healthy” travelers and not detect many of the sickControls announced by the CDC are political bandaids and placebos to quell a public outcry in the United StatesThomas Eric Duncan, the first patient diagnosed with EBOLA in the United States, has died in Dallas, Texas ---- Some have noted that many persons in Dallas were needlessly exposed to Duncan, while he was an infectious “patient,” due to the mishandling of Duncan’s case by the first healthcare professionals to treat him

“...Larry Gostin, a professor of global health law at Georgetown University, says the new requirements will likely mirror procedures already used in some West African airports: travel history, looking for signs for illness, and a temperature reading. *** When it comes to the likelihood of these interventions benefiting public health, Gostin is skeptical. *** ‘Fever screening can be unobtrusive, but let's not have the false impression that this is a tried-and-true method and it's going to keep Ebola out of the United States,’ he says. ‘It's just not the case.’ *** In fact, there's little evidence that fever screenings for arriving passengers do much to prevent the spread of Ebola or other diseases.” (See “Why One Public Health Expert Thinks Airport Ebola Screening Won't Work” by Anders Kelto. 10/8/14, National Public Radio/ NPR/ npr.com [http://www.npr.org/blogs/goatsandsoda/2014/10/08/354408155/why-one-public-health-expert-thinks-airport-ebola-screening-wont-work]).

Gostin went on to observe that “... the case of Ebola patient Thomas Eric Duncan, who traveled to the U.S. from Liberia and is now in critical condition in a Dallas hospital [who, as stated above, has since died]. He would not have been detected either in Africa or the U.S. because he was not exhibiting any signs of the virus. He also reviewed the history of several countries’ unsuccessfully attempting to screen travelers for SARS in 2003; in addition to recounting a few anecdotal instances of actively circumventing such controls.

IN THE DUNCAN CASE, THE FIRST CONTACT WITH AN UN-DIAGNOSED EBOLA PATIENT BY MEDICAL PROFESSIONALS WAS A COMPLETE FAILURE

Any objective view of the handling of Thomas Eric Duncan’s case by Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas would have to conclude that the initial diagnosis and treatment of Duncan as an ER patient, when he first appeared at the hospital was completely inadequate ( See “U.S. Ebola patient: The travels and health travails of Thomas Eric Duncan” by Greg Botelho, 10/2/14, CNN [http://www.cnn.com/2014/10/01/health/us-ebola-patient/]). As a result of that early failure by an American health care facility, several people were subjected to initial or repeated exposures to an infectious Ebola patient inside the United States for almost two additional days.

“A patient exhibiting symptoms of Ebola who claims to have had contact with Thomas Eric Duncan showed up at a Care Now facility in Frisco Wednesday afternoon. *** City officials confirmed a significant medical response at the clinic located at 301 Main Street. *** Paramedics are said to be in the process of transporting the patient, but it is unclear where. *** All staff and patrons at the facility are also being examined, officials said. *** The city has scheduled a news conference for 3:30 p.m. to release more information about the incident....” (See “Frisco: Sick patient claims to have had contact with Ebola victim” by myfoxdfw.com Staff, 10/8/14 [http://www.myfoxdfw.com/story/26737893/frisco-sick-patient-shows-signs-of-ebola]).

About Me

I formerly have commented on various political blogs concerning Republican politics. Although the focus of my political commentary has been on the Brooklyn GOP and other aspects of politics in Brooklyn, I have also posted commentary about national matters.
If you wish to contact Galewyn Massey directly, please, Email to galewynmasban@gmail.com